WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022: The Undertaker
When you think of WWE, one of the first people who you should think of is The Undertaker. In November 1990, The Undertaker made his debut as a part of Ted Dibiase’s Survivor Series team. His character and the way he presented his character was like nothing we ever saw before that time. Things began to click when Paul Bearer became his manager early on in 1991. The Undertaker was a force to be reckoned with and that reckoning came to ahead one year after his debut. At Survivor Series in 1991, he defeated fellow WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan to win his first of four WWE Championships. Even though The Undertaker’s first reign was short lived, he was proof that you didn’t need a championship to be larger than life.
The Undertaker would feud with likes of Yokozuna, Diesel, Mankind, and Shawn Michaels, but in October of 1997, his great ally and rival arrived on the scene in the form of his brother Kane. They competed against each other at WrestleMania twice, a Hell in a Cell, and even an Inferno Match. They also won the Tag Team Championships on three separate occasions. Kane was just one of Undertaker’s many opponents at WrestleMania. The Deadman would go on to have 21-0 WrestleMania streak with an overall record of 25-2. Many consider his match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25 to be one of the greatest matches in WWE History.
There are a lot of memorable moments in the career of The Undertaker and if I wrote about them all, it would be never ending. There are five moments that stuck out to me the most during his legendary career. The first and most obvious one is the Hell in Match with Mankind in 1998. It’s just one of those things that pro wrestling fans have not or will not ever forget. Many might not think about WrestleMania 18, but I always respected how he gave back to Ric Flair and helped Flair find himself again. It was an excellent match that told a great story with how it was built up. At WrestleMania 23, the buildup to The Undertaker taking on Batista was phenomenal. Their WrestleMania match was one of that’s often forgot about, but it’s one worth going back to watch. One year after that match, The Undertaker was in an amazing feud with Edge that spanned many months. The Undertaker helped make Edge into a bigger start then he already he was. My last favorite moment in The Undertaker’s career was when he took on Triple H inside Hell in a Cell at WrestleMania 28. It was dubbed “The End of an Era.” The story and the respect within this match made it what it was.
The Undertaker’s career spanned over thirty years, and he rode off in amazing fashion. When he faced AJ Styles in the Graveyard Match and incorporated every version of his character, it was the perfect way to capture everything that was great about The Undertaker. It is no surprise that The Undertaker is going into the WWE Hall of Fame because he is someone that commanded respect and was the leader of the WWE locker room for many years. There will never be another character or performer like The Undertaker, so it’s only fitting that he takes his place into the WWE Hall of Fame.
